Spokespeople for Stanislaus County’s “Focus on Prevention” program for the homeless have been saying for months that, “Money’s not the problem.” For people who’ve been on the ground dealing with the burgeoning homeless population, the claim just doesn’t make sense. Especially since the City of Modesto opened Beard Brook Park to campers, the extent of the homelessness has become more and more evident. Within a couple of weeks, almost 200 […]
Homelessnes Modesto
Homeless: Is Camping the Answer?
Daniel Shockley says he’s been homeless , “About four months, this time.” Shockley had been living with his girlfriend near Modesto’s Fourth Street when a breakup left him with nowhere to go but the park. “The police were real nice,” he said Thursday. “They helped me move all my stuff here. Otherwise, it would have meant too many trips.” Shockley still doesn’t have a tent. Like other new arrivals, he […]
Homeless and Mentally Ill: the Families
Sadie Koch was stunned when she learned a few weeks ago that her sister, Mary Baca, is homeless. Though she hadn’t seen her in well over three years, Sadie, who lives in Escalon, thought Mary was still living in Modesto with her friend and partner Linda.* The sisters had never been particularly close, but reunited when Mary returned to the Valley from Los Angeles, where she worked for a supermarket […]
Homeless: Denial Still Dominates
One year ago, Modesto City Councilmember Kristi Ah You suggested we should allow homeless people to camp in designated areas, including places like Beard Brook Park. Today, Beard Brook Park is surrounded by a chain link fence and hundreds of Valley citizens are facing yet another winter with nowhere to go. Virtually paralyzed by the problem, the City of Modesto has been unable to offer solutions other than futile anti-camping […]
Homeless: The Addicts
For many people, it’s axiomatic that homelessness is the inevitable result of drug use and addiction, and drug use and addiction themselves are the wages of sin. Oddly, these views of addiction no longer prevail among white middle- and upper-class people whose friends and family members have become victims of a heroin epidemic brought on in large part by over-prescribed pain-killers. Recently, when Carly Fiorina interrupted a Republican presidential debate […]
Homeless? Get a Job!
You’re fifty-eight years old and you’ve been homeless for the most part of the last ten years. Surprisingly, you’re still strong and still have your mental faculties. But you know you can’t keep doing this. Like most homeless people, your teeth are grotesquely ruined. But you’ve learned Obamacare can help you get replacements. You apply in February. Little do you know you won’t have your teeth until October. When you’re […]